7.29.2010

Meet-A-Member - Floyd Thomas Jr.

Visiting churches sometimes try to recruit our musicians because Centennial is known for its sensational talent. The man responsible for those soulful sounds is Floyd Thomas Jr. This 12 year member of Centennial is not only the Music Director but he is also a member of the Board of Trustees. He loves Jesus and doesn't like to miss church. His favorite scripture in the Bible is the 14th Chapter of the Book of John in which Jesus speaks of many mansions, states that He is the way, the truth, and the life and that to see Him is to see the Father. Jesus also promises the first and second Comforters.

Floyd is a very well dressed gentleman who always respects others and treats people like he likes to be treated. Born in September of 1964 in Charlotte, NC, he went to Myers Park High School. He has three sisters who lovingly call him Punkin, one named Nettie who is also a member and drummer at Centennial AME Zion, and he had a brother who was tragically killed. Floyd says his greatest accomplishment was raising his two daughters after their mother passed when they were 13 & 8. Floyd now has a granddaughter. His greatest fear is for the children of the world who suffer from hunger and disease. We all should pray that God will bless them.

While Floyd says he had a weakness for pork chops, his favorite dishes are fish and banana pudding for dessert. He prefers home cooking over restaurant food and he likes to drink Sobe fruit juices. Floyd enjoys watching old movies or action flicks and can't get enough of Andy Griffith on TV. His favorite sport is wrestling and regrets not wrestling back in school.

Recently, Floyd and his group The Sons of Thunder was blessed with a record deal with BOC Records out of Charlotte, NC. This a great accomplishment for the seven member band who organized back in 1978 by Joe Wilson. Originally named The Disciples, they were dubbed The Sons of Thunder by a preacher who had mistaken the name of their 1987 album for the name of the band and it just stuck. They have a total of five independent releases and hope to have their first nationally distributed CD complete this year. For contact and booking, email Floyd at floydthomasjr@hotmail.com or come to Centennial AME Zion and hear him play for yourself. Be blessed.

Sister Gross Preaches


Sister Renae Gross preached about almost being a christian and the importance of being a full-time saint. There are three parts so click on parts 2 & 3 after this one is finished. Stay blessed.

7.21.2010

A Great Example of How God Is Good...

WowOn a particular Saturday morning, the ladies of Centennial were serving breakfast and oh, how delicious it was. The children were playing outside the church like they usually do and all was well. Not too soon after most everybody packed up to leave, a man fell asleep at the wheel, swerved across the church yard through the parking lot and took out a light pole! Twenty or thirty minutes earlier and we would have had a disaster.


Thank God nobody, including the driver of the pickup truck was seriously injured. The post was split and the power lines were ripped out the side of the church but once again, thank goodness that everyone is alright. Duke Energy has since put up a new pole and got the power back working. God is good, all the time.

7.12.2010

Meet-A-Member - Tessira Tcon Wade


Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus but it's good to know that you can also make some friends at Centennial AME Zion Church so we'd like to introduce you to Ms. Tessira Tcon Wade. She has been a member of Centennial for her whole life of 24 years and is the YACM or Young Adult Christian Missionary president. Born March 19th in Rock Hill, SC, she is an alumni of Claflin University where she became a soror of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. A saying that she lives by is, "Float like a duck, under water work hard but on top, always appear calm and sireen." She prides her greatest accomplishment in receiving her Marketing Degree and is now pursuing an additional degree in Accounting. Tessira always believed that if she was going to be famous for anything, it would be for business. She has always been an advocate of education and dreamed of being a teacher as a child. Her favorite teacher coming up was Lani Helms because she was so nice and pushed her creatively.

Most people call her Tcon but her friends & coworkers affectionately call her Tess. She is currently a Mortgage Unit Assitant at a Citi Financial. She has a very loving family that includes a wonderful mom, Brenda & dad, Darryl, two brothers, Darryl & Andre, and two sisters, DeeDee & India. She would like to one day meet her grandfather so he can set the record straight. Her worst fear is that she will lose one of her loved ones suddenly because her family is very important to her. She says that the nicest thing someone has ever done for her was her mom giving her life. If she had one wish, she would wish that she could supply everything for her family but would buy herself a house if she came into some money. The place she wants to visit the most is The Bahamas because it looks so nice. Like most women, she chooses her stomach as the the part of her body that she wants to change first. She plays tennis but her favorite sport is basketball and she enjoys the Wii & playing the Wii Resort games for fun. Her most beautiful quality is her personality because she is a natural 'people person' but thinks she is too blunt and can't stand liars.

The first thing she does each morning is hit the snooze button and her favorite Bible book is Genesis because it tells about the beginning of everything. A few things most people don't know about Tessira is that she speaks a little French and plays the piano. The worst gift she ever got was socks, would save her photo box if her house was on fire, and hopes to have a solar powered satellite phone if she was stranded on a desert island. Ms. Wade enjoyed reading Steve Harvey's book, Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man & Cosmo magazine is her choice at the newsstand. But if she is watching a movie, she prefers a superhero action flick like Wolverine and when watching television she likes Leverage. Her favorite singers are her mom & dad. Her most delicious dish is fish and she just loves to drink ginger ale but has a weakness for her favorite restaurant, The Cheesecake Factory. To learn more about Ms. Tessira Tcon Wade, come meet her at Centennial or befriend her on Facebook. God bless.